How long for you till soft chew?

Message

#1 Post by **brendan** » Tue May 19, 2009 6:21 pm

How long was it before you were eating mashed potatoes, small pieces of chicken, mac and cheese etc.

This 9 weeks is gettin to me!!!

#2 Post by **brendan** » Tue May 19, 2009 6:22 pm

Also i basically cheated and have been eating regular chili and mac and cheese and sesame for the past week until i found out today that can cause my bone to re-fracture. is this true?! even at 5 weeks+ ?

#3 Post by **LemnzestManatee** » Tue May 19, 2009 9:01 pm

Well I was wired shut for 3 1/2 weeks, but as soon as they removed the wires and splint, and slapped elastics on me I was able to eat soft foods.

What exactly did you have done? It sounds like you had to have surgery to fix an injury.

#4 Post by **brendan** » Tue May 19, 2009 11:32 pm

had upper and lower jaw surgery
7mm forward top
5mm forward bottom

have been on liquid only and suppose to continue until 9 weeks post op

they say any lumps in it etc have a chance of fracturing the bone. sucks cus i been cheating and eating chili unblended and mac and cheese etc... now im scared i may have messed something up

#5 Post by **OzzysMom** » Tue May 19, 2009 11:37 pm

My surgeon said I could start at about 2 and a half weeks afterwards. After 2 weeks I was "swallowing" pureed beans then at the 2 and a half week mark I tried eating ravioli but wasn't ready. It took me 30 minutes to eat 3 of them and it wasn't easy. So I stayed on my liquid diet a few days more, then started eating chili mac(although I was probably swallowing more than chewing). It was a slow process. I also had to have a mirror nearby because I couldn't feel my chin and got food all over it

#6 Post by **OzzysMom** » Tue May 19, 2009 11:43 pm

Brendan, I was eating pureed foods like mashed potatoes and soup the week after surgery. The problem was getting my mouth open wide enough to put a baby spoon inside. I think you're fine but I would stay away from the chicken for awhile.

#7 Post by **chicago29** » Wed May 20, 2009 4:12 am

When you say "liquid diet", I assume that blended/pureed food is OK out of the blender?

I had to eat that way for 6 weeks after my first surgery. It wasn't easy and I did get sick of it, but it also wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

If you haven't already looked at it, I highly recommend the Jaw Surgery Cookbook from the Zip-N-Squeeze website. It has a ton of good recipes, and some of the dishes are actually good.

OK, maybe "dishes" is not the correct word. I should say "bowls"

Also, as long as you are not chewing, I think you're fine brendan...I know for one I ate a lot of Mac & Cheese and just swallowed it whole.

Good luck...you're over half the way home!

#8 Post by **brendan** » Wed May 20, 2009 11:29 pm

Thats why im kinda stressing.

I have done a bit of chewing.

At first i was mostly swallowing a lot. But once i tested out giving it a few chews, it felt just fine.

Apparently though, all the teeth and everything is numb so i could fracture the bone 20 times and not even know it.

I guess X-rays next week will show and tell

#9 Post by **moth** » Thu May 21, 2009 9:33 am

i was just given the go ahead today to start with mushy foods. no more syringe! it's been just a little over 6 weeks since surgery.

#10 Post by PJ » Thu May 21, 2009 2:53 pm

I don't know if it's just due to not being wired shut, or a difference of surgeons' opinions, but I was allowed to eat mushy foods--oatmeal, applesauce, etc. pretty much by day 1. I also had BBSO and Lefort 1. Now at 4 weeks post op I am eating soft foods--pasta, flaky fish, soft beef, etc.

#11 Post by **brendan** » Thu May 21, 2009 5:57 pm

PJ- exactly man.

I think my surgeon is just EXTRA careful or something. Because i have heard of many surgeons having people eat at 4-6 weeks soft foods.

I honestly feel like i could eat a damn hamburger or solid piece of carne asada right now lol. oh well tho. gonna follow directions

#12 Post by **chicago29** » Fri May 22, 2009 8:51 am

Hang in there brenden...you'll be enjoying that hamburger soon enough!

I agree it is frustrating to hear that some people can chew immediately. I also felt I could chew after about 3 weeks, but I followed instructions and I didn't. I drank my meals for 6 weeks, and I'm sure my second surgery will be similar if not longer.

I think it is a very positive sign that you CAN chew without any pain or anything, so that's something to focus on. When you finally do get the "all clear" you should be able to eat very well and without much discomfort.

Good luck, and let us know how those xrays turn out...

#13 Post by **brendan** » Fri May 22, 2009 11:44 am

chicago29 wrote:Hang in there brenden...you'll be enjoying that hamburger soon enough!

I agree it is frustrating to hear that some people can chew immediately. I also felt I could chew after about 3 weeks, but I followed instructions and I didn't. I drank my meals for 6 weeks, and I'm sure my second surgery will be similar if not longer.

I think it is a very positive sign that you CAN chew without any pain or anything, so that's something to focus on. When you finally do get the "all clear" you should be able to eat very well and without much discomfort.

Good luck, and let us know how those xrays turn out...

Thanks! I'll keep ya posted. Going in for appointment today so we'll see what Dr. G thinks about it.

#14 Post by **Twinjoy** » Tue May 26, 2009 11:53 pm

I had my splint taken out today and am exactly 4 weeks post op. I expected to be able to transition into regular food as soon as my splint was removed and was very surprised that my bite is so off without the splint. With the splint in if fell like my back teeth on both sides touched and I would mash food back there (even though I wasn't really supposed to). Now that my splint is out only one molar on my back right side touches and I feel like I am back at square one. Do I really have to go back to mashed potatoes and other things I can just swallow? I am heading on vacation in 2 days and was hoping I would slightly be able to use my back teeth for some small chewing of soft foods. Anyone have any advice?

#15 Post by PJ » Wed May 27, 2009 6:32 am

Twinjoy-- I could be wrong, but I think whatever you were told about being able to chew at a certain time should still hold--I think the issue is the healing of the jaw, not whether the teeth meet. My back teeth still don't exactly meet yet, but that is for the ortho to correct now. The surgery can only do so much--then it is up to the OD to finish the job. Hopefully, both of us will have good results when it is all said and done.

Go eat some food!